Finns proper

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Finns proper
Coat of Arms of Finland Proper.svg
Coat of arms of the historical province of Finland Proper
Regions with significant populations
Southwest Finland and Satakunta
Languages
Finnish (Southwest Finnish dialects)
Religion
Lutheranism
Related ethnic groups
Other regional subgroups
The area where the Southwest Finnish dialects are spoken Lounaismurteet.png
The area where the Southwest Finnish dialects are spoken

Finns proper (Finnish : varsinaissuomalaiset; Swedish : Egentliga Finnar) are a historic people and a modern subgroup ( heimo ) of the Finnish people. They live in the areas of the historical province of Finland Proper (Finnish : Varsinais-Suomi) and Satakunta, and they speak Southwestern dialects of Finnish. The Finns proper have had strong connections to Scandinavia throughout their history. [1]

Originally, the exonym "Finland" and the endonym "Suomi" referred only to the Southwestern region inhabited by Finns proper. Later, the meaning of these names expanded to refer to the whole area of modern Finland. Earlier, the name "Finn" meant Sami people, especially in older Norse sagas. [2]

The Russian name sum (сумь), which appears in Novgorodian chronicles, is believed to refer to Finns proper. [3] The sums are mentioned as allies of Swedes at the Battle of Neva at 1240.

See also

References

  1. Palmunen, Lauri (toim.): Varsinais-Suomen käsikirja – Egentliga Finlands handbok. Turku: Varsinais-Suomen liitto, 2009
  2. Hermann Pálsson (1999): The Sami People in Old Norse Literature.
  3. Murray, Alan V. (5 July 2017). Crusade and Conversion on the Baltic Frontier 1150–1500. Taylor & Francis. p. 141. ISBN   978-1-351-94715-2.